After a day off, the World Juniors are back and the games matter in a big way. The preliminaries are done and we are on to the playoff and relegation rounds. Relegation features a three game set between the Swiss and team Germany. The playoff round carries no margin for error. Lose and you are done.
Yesterday's Tournament Action
There were no games yesterday, but we haven't done an update since New Years Eve so we'll take a look back to Wednesday's games. Wednesday featured a couple of one-sided games, one big upset and one heck of a game between Canada and team USA.
One of the one-sided games featured team Sweden smashing the Swiss team 5-1. This game did not feature any Winnipeg Jets prospects, but the Swiss loss guaranteed Nikolaj Ehlers and the Danes a trip to the quarter finals.
The upset saw a Czech team that had been struggling pump Russia 4-1. The Czechs were at risk of being forced into the relegation round. The win kept them and Jets prospect Jan Kostalek in the tournament. Kostalek picked up a pair of assists in the game.
And then there was the big game. Canada versus the United States. Eric Comrie was in net and he played well en route to a 5-3 win. Was it enough to earn another start or two? Maybe, but he'd probably like the third goal back. Canada's other two Jets prospect also hit the stat sheet when Nic Petan picked up an assist on a Josh Morrissey snipe.
Finland also beat Germany 2-0.
A Josh Morrissey goal (Petan assisted on it):
And a BIG hit:
Today's Tournament Schedule
| Game ID | Round | Group | Date | Visitor | V | Home | H | Location | Status | Broadcast |
| 21 | Relegation | – | Fri Jan 2 |
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Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ont.
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10:00 AM EST | TSN | ||
| 22 | Quarter-Final | – | Fri Jan 2 |
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–
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Bell Centre, Montreal, Que.
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12:00 PM EST | TSN | ||
| 23 | Quarter-Final | – | Fri Jan 2 |
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–
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Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ont.
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1:00 PM EST | TSN | ||
| 24 | Quarter-Final | – | Fri Jan 2 |
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–
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Bell Centre, Montreal, Que.
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4:00 PM EST | TSN | ||
| 25 | Quarter-Final | – | Fri Jan 2 |
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–
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Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ont.
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7:00 PM EST | TSN |
Flight Schedule
Denmark made it into the elimination rounds, but they got the toughest draw in the tournament. They will be hard pressed to keep this game close, but it will be fun to see Nikolaj Ehlers in one more prime time showing. The other Jets prospect teams will be involved in tough games as team US takes on Russia and the Czechs take on the Slovaks.
